Jan. 25 Sun. 2 p.m. Program: Alan Garinger: Author of Alone - Journey of the Boy Sims. Committee: Shirley & Bill Willard, Marsha Glassburn

Feb. 22 Sun. 2 p.m. Program: Richard Conroy: Author of Devil Rising and Return of the Gun set in the old West. Committee head: Carol Boyer

March 7-8 Sat. 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. Sun. 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Living History Faire

March 27 - Fri. 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Genealogy Research Help -Scouts, 4H and other public welcome. Speaker: April Gross from Fulton County Public Library.

April 25-26 Redbud Trail Rendezvous Sat 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Sun. 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

May 2 Sat. 4:00-7:30 p.m. Fish & Chicken Fry at FCHS Museum, fish and chicken cooked by Ernie Hiatt.

May 17 Sun. 2 p.m. Program: Don Clouse - Korean War Submariner. Committee: Clem Good & Kevin Kennedy.

May 23 Sat. 7:00 - 11:00 a.m. Breakfast Buffet - fundraiser at museum. Come and eat all you want for $6. Biscuits and sausage gravy, hash browns, ham, scrambled eggs, muffins, fruit, drinks.

June 19-21 Fri.-Sat. 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sun. 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. Historical Power Show.

July 19 Sun. 3 p.m. Ernie Hiatt - "The Specialist" about building outhouses - this is hilarious! Committee head: Mike Wise

July 29 Wed. 4:30-7:00 p.m. Hap's Chicken Bash Fundraiser

Aug. 22 Sat. Cruzin for History, 2 p.m. - 8 p.m., antique car show and ham & bean supper.

Aug. 23 Sun. 2 p. m Program: Tim Padfield - woodcarver. Committee head: Melinda Clinger

Sept. 5 & 12 Sat. 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Work days - get grounds ready, repair booths for Trail of Courage. Earn free admission by working four hours. Bring picnic or sack lunch to eat in museum or in the woods.

Sept. 18 Fri. 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. Trail School Day - School tours of Trail of Courage demonstrators & crafters.

Sept. 18 Fri. 4 p.m. Ceremony for 100th anniversary of Chief Menominee statue, erected 1909. Held at Chief Menominee monument on Peach Road at Twin Lake, six miles west of U.S. 31, southwest of Plymouth. Supper afterward, location to be announced.

Sept. 18 Fri. 7:30 p.m. Annual meeting of Potawatomi Trail of Death Assn. will be after Chief Menominee statue ceremony & supper.

Sept. 19-20 Sat. 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. - Sun. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Trail of Courage Living History Festival. Special honored Potawatomi family: Edward J. Mitchell, relative of Chief We-wiss-sa.

Oct. 16-17 & Oct. 23-24 Fri & Sat. 7 p.m.-until finished. Haunted Woods Trail. TWO WEEKENDS!

Oct. 25 Sun. 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Toy Show

Nov. 22 Sun. 1:00 Annual carry-in banquet, election of officers, awards to volunteers & donors. Bring food to share, table service. Awards at 2:00. Program at 2:30 p.m.: Almost Country or Blue Grass Buddies. Committee: Lois Ulerick, Melinda Clinger, Carolyn Clinger and Lola Riddle. Next weeks after Thanksgiving - Please come to help decorate the museum for Christmas.

Dec 12 - Sat. 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Demonstrations & Christmas crafts you can make & take. Christmas Open House at Museum. Various piano players will play the baby grand from Colonial Hotel: Come & sing along - Christmas & old tunes. Committee: Melinda Clinger, Marsha Glassburn and Lola Riddle.

Dec 12 - Sat. 6 p.m. Christmas in the Country Program, admission charged to benefit museum.

You are invited to attend these meetings too!

Potawatomi Trail of Death Assn. Meetings 2009
Sept. 18 Fri. 4 p.m. Ceremony for Chief Menominee statue, erected 1909. Held at Chief Menominee monument on Peach Road at Twin Lake, six miles west of U.S. 31, southwest of Plymouth. Supper afterward, location to be announced schedule. Sept. 18 Fri. Annual meeting of Potawatomi Trail of Death Assn. will be after Chief Menominee statue ceremony & supper.

FCHS Genealogy Meetings in 2009
March 27 Fri. 7 p.m.- 10 p.m. Genealogy Research Help - Scouts, 4H and other public welcome. At FCHS Reference Room. Free help on computer research. Speaker April Gross from Fulton County Public Library. Nov. 17 Tuesday 12 noon - lunch at local restaurant to elect officers & plan for 2010.

Blacksmiths
Meet at Sutton Terock Blacksmith Shop beside FCHS round barn to demonstrate & teach iron working and blacksmithing the second Sat. of each month at 9 a.m. Public is welcome!

Fulton County Historical Power Association - 2009

Meet the second Tuesday of each month in Fulton County Museum. Public is welcome!

March 7 Sat. 4:00 - 7:30 p.m. Fish & Chicken Fry by Ernie Hiatt, at 4H Fairgrounds.
June 19-21 Fri. - Sat. 9 a.m.- 8 p.m. Sun. 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Historical Power Show on FCHS grounds.
Oct. 25 Sun. Toy Show, at the museum, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Dec. 5. Sat. 6 p.m. Annual Banquet carry- in supper followed by awards and elections at museum.

Put these events on your 2010 calendar!
2nd Annual Living History Faire inside museum Mar. 6-7, 2010
19th annual Redbud Trail Rendezvous April 24- 25, 2010
8th annual Fulton County Historical Power Show June 18-19-20, 2010
35th annual Trail of Courage Living History Festival, Sept. 18-19, 2010

Now is the time. Dues are due for 2009. Please don't drop out now.

For further information contact: Fulton County Historical Society, Inc.
37 E 375 N
Rochester IN 46975
Phone 574-223-4436 Email: fchs@rtcol.com
Web Page: www.icss.net/~fchs

Fulton County's Round Barn Museum can now be found in the Rand McNally Atlas which is available locally at Wal-Mart. This invaluable and free advertising will be seen all over the world.

Marsha Glassburn, Leiters Ford, who participated in the 2002 Trail of Courage as a newcomer:

A common figure of speech says that old habits die hard. But old skills, old crafts, the old knowledge and culture die quickly without people to practice them and pass them on. So, If you don't know how already, you can learn to throw a knife and tomahawk, start a fire with flint & steel, shoot a muzzle-loader, weave a basket and other crafts. Cook over an open fire; sing around a crackling campfire at night, swap tall tales. Then you need to join us next year here at the festival. If you're like most folks, you'll get bit by the bug and yearn for a rendezvous whenever you smell smoke. I will always say, "Smells like RENDEZVOUS!" I'll be back next year. Rain or shine!

Carol Layman, NorthVernon, Indiana: I thought I had died and gone to Heaven. Wearing an old fashioned dress and a bonnet, I was sitting on a log bench in an autumn woods on a Sunday morning. Rays of sunshine coming down through the trees were tinted blue by campfire smoke. A trapper-type man dressed in fringed leather sat on the edge of the stage, which was a rust structure made of weathered planks. He was playing familiar songs on a squeeze box he called a melodeon. I had hardly stopped smiling since arriving at this Trail of Courage Living History Festival the day before. The only down side of the weekend was having to stay in my booth if I wanted to do business, but we took turns minding the store. A small village of wigwams was located directly behind our booth. I was so happy to see them shown to school children. Too many Hoosier students – and adults—believe the Indiana Indians lived in tepees.

The Trail of Courage in 2001 was just a few days after the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. This email came the day after the Trail of Courage:

I have been coming to Trail since 1988. Anything I can do to perpetuate the Trail, within my power, I will gladly do.

I told Chief White Eagle Sunday, as a former Green Beret, my first reaction was to go kill something. Then I remembered my vow of non-violence I took at the planting of the Peace Tree. If there ever was a time I needed to be there, this was the time. Being there, talking to White Eagle, and remembering what the Trail is about, helped me through a difficult time.

Let there be no doubt that what you do is worthwhile! A friend and I discovered the Trail by accident while driving up 31. Praise the Great Spirit! Over the years, I have brought my young sons, my brother and his family, three nephews, and two other friends. There was not one among the group that did not want to return the following year!! All the years I've been coming, and all the reading I've done; I had not heard the entire story of Geronimo until Sunday.

YES what you do is worthwhile!! I only wish that my health, employment, & proximity allowed me to participate in the effort. Thank you again, I NEEDED to be there this year.

The newly revised FCHS Web site, created by Debbie Willard of HTC Technologies as a public service, has brought in several e-mail responses to the Trail of Courage Living History Festival. All were very favorable. Stated one participant: "We want to thank you and your organization for allowing us to be part of the Trail of Courage week end. I do not know when I have enjoyed myself so much. Not only did I have a chance to look at my ancestry, but I was able to see some of my living family also. You and your group have done a great job in putting things together in a way that honor and shows great respect for both the Indians and the settlers of our land. I wish I could have gone with you on the trip to Kansas. If we are in any way able, we would sure like to take the trip the next time (in 2003)."

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